


Sexy Books (You Don't Know How Beautiful You Are)

by TajaReyul



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2014-05-26
Packaged: 2018-01-26 14:17:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1691306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TajaReyul/pseuds/TajaReyul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Manipulation wasn't one of Tonks's strong suits, but Percy was in a vulnerable place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sexy Books (You Don't Know How Beautiful You Are)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2014 hp_getlucky fest. The prompt was: "Books are sexier than you think; Tonks tries to talk to Percy about the Order and the bad path he's following at the Ministry." The title is adapted from the U2 song Get On Your Boots. Thanks to sassycat for awesome and fast beta services.

Tonks stopped in front of Flourish and Blotts, her attention caught by the display of luck magic books in the window. _Get Lucky for St. Patrick's Day_ proclaimed one. The window on the other side of the door showed books on a whole host of Irish-themed topics from ancient Celtic grimoires to magical Irish cookery books, but she'd spent enough time with Mad-Eye Moody to have had her fill of Irish curses, conjurings, wit and wisdom.

She went in. Her luck could use a nudge away from the 'disaster' end of the spectrum towards the 'boon' end. Browsing the prominently-placed display table, Tonks selected a book that appeared pretty basic. She wasn't looking for the spell equivalent of Felix Felicis, after all. As she made her way to the counter, she tripped over a wrinkle in the carpet. She started to pick herself up when a hand thrust in front of her face. Taking it, she let the owner of said hand pull her to her feet.

"Thanks," she began absently, until she saw to whom the freckled hand belonged. "Percy."

"My pleasure, Nym--" at her dark look, he broke off with a cough, "Auror Tonks."

"How's life in the Minister's office?" she asked, more out of a sense of obligation than any desire for conversation.

"Fine, just fine. Busy. Any luck finding Black?"

Tonks blinked, but recovered quickly. She'd forgot for a moment that Percy had chosen the Ministry over the Order—and over his family. "No," she said tiredly. "I'm sure you read the reports the Auror office sends."

"I don't, actually," he replied, flushing blotchily, and Tonks wondered what that was about. "There's always talk, of course, but the rumours are outrageous."

"Unfortunately, we have to follow up on any lead, no matter how unlikely."

"Do you have time to get a cuppa?"

"I—erm—yes, I suppose so. Let me pay for this."

He craned his neck to read the title of the book in her hand. " _Luck Magick_? Things can't be that bad."

"It's not for work. It's...personal."

"Oh." She thought she saw a flash of sympathy behind his glasses, and she ignored it.

"So, the Leaky?"

"I was thinking of the tea shop near the Ministry. It's Muggle-run, but they have a huge selection."

"All right, then." Tonks paid for her book and left with him. Perhaps she could talk some sense into Percy. The Order could use another set of eyes and ears in the Ministry, and he would be uniquely placed in the Minister's office.

The tea shop was everything he'd promised. Tonks ordered a tea called Violet Femme whilst Percy got Assam. "I live on it these days," he explained with a grimace as he took a sip.

"These are tough times," she said non-committally. "We're all burning the candle at both ends, and sometimes melting it in the middle as well."

"It can be particularly hard when one doesn't have anyone in which to confide."

"I can see how that would be a problem for most people, but Percy, even as a boy, you always seemed so self-sufficient."

He frowned. "I always thought I was too, but no-one I used to know is talking to me any more." He took a breath. "To be honest, I was hoping to run into you today."

"Why?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why did you want to see me?"

"I thought...perhaps you'd be more sympathetic than most, because your mother was disowned by her family."

"There's a big difference between getting burned off the family tapestry because you happened to fall in love with someone your bigoted family disapproves of and leaving home because you're a twat."

He sat back in his chair, looking shocked and hurt. Tonks felt a stab of shame—she hadn't thought Percy would be that sensitive. If she'd called Bill, or even Charlie, a twat, they'd have made some joke about being what they ate.

"I just meant that it's a lot easier to swallow your pride than leave your husband and baby daughter behind."

"So you think I'm in the wrong?"

Tonks looked around uneasily. "I think this isn't the place to talk about this." It was unlikely that anyone from the Ministry that might be unsympathetic to the Order would be in this Muggle tea shop, but she wasn't about to take chances. She drained her cup. "Yours or mine?"

He looked surprised at the way she'd phrased the question, then his mouth twisted. "Mine, I think. I still remember the summer you came to visit Charlie at the Burrow."

"I can't help it if my mum didn't learn all those housekeeping spells as a girl and couldn't teach me," she said defensively.

They walked a little way down the street before he gently took her arm and Apparated them both to his flat. It was tidy and plainly furnished, as Tonks had expected. All the available wall space was taken up with bookshelves full of books.

"Do you spend all your disposable income on books?"

"Nearly," he replied, sounding defensive. "Reading is, among other things, an escape."

Tonks paused, considering. "That's...kind of hot."

"I—wait, what?"

"Oh yeah. Books are sexier than you'd think, and smart is far more attractive than stupid. Give me a man that reads any day."

He was speechless. Tonks could work with that. Manipulation wasn't one of her strong suits, but Percy was in a vulnerable place.

"What? Why did you think I crushed on Bill? It wasn't for his looks. Pretty boys are a Sickle a dozen. I was after that big brain of his."

Red tinted his cheekbones. "Oh, erm..."

"I think yours might be bigger, though," she said slyly, moving closer and straightening his already-perfect tie.

Percy looked down into her face as his hands went automatically to her waist. Tonks arranged her features in what she hoped was a beguiling expression.

"Tonks," he murmured before kissing her.

He was much more confident than she ever would have imagined from what she knew of his generally cautious, play-by-the-rules nature. She couldn't help responding to his excellent technique. Somehow, he managed to give the impression of barely-leashed passion. This promised to be more enjoyable than she had anticipated.

Percy slid his hand under the hem of her shirt and lifted his head to ask, "Is this all right?"

"Yes, of course. If you do something that's not all right, I'll let you know."

"I'd rather keep my wedding tackle intact and functioning, thank you."

"Percy! What sort of woman do you think I am?"

His ears went red. "I think you're highly-trained Auror. There are stories..."

Tonks giggled. "Oh. _Those._ " She slipped her arms about his waist. "Those stories were put about by the first female Aurors. We still keep up the fiction for obvious reasons, but you're in no more danger from me than you would be from any other witch." She stretched to place a gentle kiss on his mouth.

Percy kissed her back, almost in spite of himself. Then he slowly and deliberately slid his hand up over her ribcage to cup her breast. Tonks found his precise touch exciting, and decided right then to let him dictate the pace. He didn't disappoint, driving her relentlessly to orgasm twice before he'd had his fill.

When they lay side-by-side afterwards, she set out her case.

"You know when you asked if I thought you were the one in the wrong?"

"Yes," he agreed cautiously.

"I don't, or rather, I wouldn't if you had the right end of the wand about Potter. I know it's not the Ministry's official line, but Potter's got it more right than wrong. You-Know-Who is back. He didn't die like everyone thought, and he's working to take over the Ministry. I know it sounds mad," she said hastily, when he would have interrupted, "but look at that thing with Crouch. That was just the first step, or one of the early steps, at any road."

"Tonks," Percy interrupted gently, "Potter's just a boy. The Ministry is made up of some of the brightest minds in the wizarding world—and a few wankers and crackpots. I would never speak ill of Minister Fudge, but it has become increasingly clear that he has an axe to grind where Dumbledore is concerned. That doesn't mean he's wrong about everything else."

"He is wrong about this, though. Perce, you're a bright bloke—one of the brightest I've ever met. I'm sure if you think about this whole thing logically, well, like I said, you're a bright bloke." She let that hang in the air for a minute, then she said, "Thanks for this, by the way. It's been a while since anyone but me gave me two orgasms like that." She rose and began dressing. "Floo me if you want to talk. Not just about the Ministry, either. We can talk about anything, books, Quidditch, whatever you want."

She soon left and Percy stared up at the ceiling. He would have liked to let Tonks in on the secret, that Dumbledore had recruited him just as Percy was leaving school, to be a secret, extra set of eyes and ears in the Ministry. She'd been right, he was a self-sufficient individual, but times like this made it oh, so difficult. Tonks was an amazing witch, and if he admitted it to himself, he really liked the way her hair had changed colours rapidly when she was aroused. Percy would have liked the opportunity to pursue a relationship with her, or at least see if their compatibility extended beyond the bedroom. _Perhaps once this immensely stupid war is finished,_ he thought with a sigh.


End file.
